Teresa Sayward

Teresa Sayward
Member of the New York State Assembly
from the 113th Assembly district
Assumed office
2003
Preceded by Elizabeth Little
Town supervisor of Willsboro
In office
1992–2002
Personal details
Born 1944/1945 (age 71–72)[1]
Political party Republican
Other political
affiliations		 Independence[2][3]
Spouse(s) Kenneth Sayward[4]
Relations Beatrice Riley (mother)[5]
Children four
Residence Willsboro, New York
Occupation Former dairy farmer[4]
Religion Roman Catholic[6][7]
Website Official website

Teresa R. Sayward (born 1944/1945)[1] was a member of the New York State Assembly for Willsboro (the 113th district), first elected in 2002. She is a Republican.[4]

Career

Sayward was a dairy farmer with her husband Ken for 16 years until 1988, when they sold their farm due it becoming unprofitable.[8] She has also worked as a real estate agent, an antiques dealer and as an interior decorator.[4] After leaving dairy farming she stood for election as the Republican candidate for town supervisor of Willsboro, winning on her second attempt in 1992.[1][4]

Political history

She was town supervisor, for the Town of Willsboro, for 11 years and the chairwoman of the Essex County Board of Supervisors.[4] She was awarded the title of "Outstanding Local Official" for 2002 by the Adirondack Park Local Government Review Board.[9]

She became a member of the New York State Assembly in 2002, replacing Elizabeth Little[4] in a six-way contest in which she won 52% of the vote.[10] Sayward had narrowly beaten Thomas Scozzafava to the Republican nomination,[11] and he stood against her as a Conservative candidate.[12] Sayward spent $112,000 on the campaign.[13] In 2006 she became the secretary of the Assembly Republican Conference.[14]

She ran unopposed, as a Republican with the endorsement of the Independence Party of New York, in the November 2008[2] and November 2010 general elections.[3][15] Sayward retired from the Assembly at the end of 2012.[16]

In 2012, she supported democratic President Barack Obama for re-election.[17]

Positions

Sayward favors lowering health care costs, workers' compensation costs, and local property taxes,[4] and has argued for extensive state budget cuts.[18] She supported Governor David Paterson's 2009 proposal to legalize same-sex marriage in New York[19] and gave an emotional speech in the state assembly that helped pass a bill for legalization.[20] Her elder son Glenn is gay and she views gay marriage as a civil rights issue;[6][19] she received significant campaign donations from out of state as a result of her position,[7] but lost the endorsement of the Conservative Party of New York State.[21] She has campaigned nationally for gay rights[6] and is involved with the Log Cabin Republicans.[22] She supported her friend Dede Scozzafava's 2009 campaign for Congress.[23] She is a member of the National Rifle Association.[24]

Family

Sayward and her husband Kenneth[4] have four children: Glenn (b. 1961),[6][21] Yvonne (b. 1963/1964),[8] Kyle (1969—2007),[25] and Wendy (b. 1972/1973).[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Assembly Hopefuls". The Post-Star. Glens Falls, NY. June 26, 2002. Retrieved November 23, 2010. Teresa Sayward, Age: 57
  2. 1 2 "Assembly Election Returns: November 4, 2008" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. 2008.
  3. 1 2 "Assembly Election Returns: November 2, 2010" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Durr, Eric (December 28, 2003). "Teresa Sayward brings small business attitude to state Legislature". The Business Review. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  5. ↑ Kosmider, Bethany (January 1, 2003). "Sayward credits strong supporting staff". Press Republican. Plattsburgh, NY.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Assemblywoman Sayward: conservative Republican, unlikely gay rights activist". North Country Public Radio. December 4, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  7. 1 2 Gershman, Jacob (August 7, 2008). "Assembly's Gay Rites Backers Reap Benefits". New York Sun. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  8. 1 2 3 Halperin, Sue M. (June 11, 1988). "At 35/ an Hour, How're Ya Gonna Keep'em Down on the Dairy Farm?". New York Times. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  9. ↑ Thompson, Maury (August 2, 2002). "Government panel honors Sayward". The Post-Star. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Results for New York State Assembly". New York Times. 2002. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Kusnierz, former candidate for Assembly, endorses opponent Teresa Sayward". The Post-Star. October 18, 2002. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  12. ↑ "New York Assembly — 113th District (vote for one)". The Post-Star. November 3, 2002. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  13. ↑ Thompson, Maury (July 28, 2003). "Sayward revisits $30K debt". The Post-Star. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  14. ↑ "Sayward named to GOP Conference post". Press-Republican. Plattsburgh, NY. December 29, 2006.
  15. ↑ Meixner, Cristine (October 27, 2010). "Ballot time is at hand". Hamilton County Express. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  16. ↑ McKinstry, Lohr (January 13, 2013). "Teresa Sayward reflects on Assembly career". Press-Republican. Plattsburgh, NY. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  17. ↑ http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2012/03/08/440746/ny-gop-lawmaker-women-back-decades/?mobile=nc
  18. ↑ "Sayward says lawmakers missed plenty of "fat" in their budget". North Country Public Radio. August 9, 2010. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  19. 1 2 "Paterson Announces Gay Marriage Legislation". WPTZ. April 16, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  20. ↑ Grynbaum, Michael M. (June 21, 2007). "Gay Marriage, a Touchy Issue, Touches Legislators' Emotions". New York Times. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  21. 1 2 Thompson, Maury (July 23, 2007). "Politics of the heart". The Post-Star. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  22. ↑ Confessore, Nicholas (May 12, 2008). "Constituents Back a Tough Stand". New York Times. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  23. ↑ Thompson, Maury (November 2, 2009). "Sayward torn over vote in 23rd District". The Post-Star. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  24. ↑ Ertelt, Paul (December 22, 2005). "Life, not death, for cop killers". Press-Republican. Plattsburgh, NY.
  25. ↑ "Legislator's son dies in accident". Press-Republican. Plattsburgh, NY. January 29, 2007.
New York Assembly
Preceded by
Marc W. Butler		 New York State Assembly
113th District
2003–2014 		Succeeded by
Carrie Woerner
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